


Ardyn and the Urchin

by CatLady86



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canon Divergence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Fluff, Gen, Humor, Kinkmeme, One-Sided Enemies to Friends, Physical Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-31
Updated: 2018-06-23
Packaged: 2019-05-16 12:20:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 19,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14811267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CatLady86/pseuds/CatLady86
Summary: When a demon summoning goes wrong, two unlikely individuals meet and are bound together, tipping their worlds upside down. But sometimes even the most unfortunate of circumstances can lead to a new strange friendship and help heal wounds.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is an older fill I did for this prompt: https://ffxv-kinkmeme.dreamwidth.org/4113.html?thread=7079441#cmt7079441

Whether it was extreme curiosity or stupidity that the teen decided to attempt the incantation he found in the old locked away tome, he immediately seems to regret it now as he is stared down by a very unenthused fop of a man. The brunette looks up owl-eyed at the auburn-haired man, trembling as he reaches down, grasping him up by his chin with rough boney fingers.

“Do you know how hard it is to find any peace and quiet nowadays, little whelp?” the man sneers, accent thick and oily. “I was just about to settle in with a good book, possibly even take a nice bubble bath, and instead I get summoned by some child.” he snaps, eyes slitting. “Why!?”

The young boy swallows down the lump in his throat, sweat trickling down his forehead as he stares into the man’s cold eyes, and goes to speak but stammers. The man’s grip tightens on the teen’s face, eyes becoming even more menacing that it seems like the boy’s about to piss himself. But he takes a deep breath, calming his nerves enough to speak.

“I found a uh summoning spell, in an old book my dad had hidden away.”

The man looks to the discarded book by the summoning circle before dragging the teen effortlessly by his face to it and snatching it up. He shoves the child to the concrete floor, pursing his lips as he scans over the pages, then looks to the teen with a slight hint of adulation that quickly is overtaken by annoyance. With a quick flick of his wrist, he thumps the teen on the top of his head with the book, like an old school teacher would with a misbehaved student. 

“Didn’t anyone teach you not to play with black magic? It is highly dangerous, especially for little boy’s with low intelligence.”

“Hey! I’m not stupid, I have the highest grade of anyone in my class.” the teen grumps, taking a ballsy stance with the man. But he frowns and lowers his head, looking slightly dejected. “People constantly teases me anyway, telling me I’m just going to be a meat shield and nothing else. That I should just focus on my muscles and be some dumb lummox whose only purpose is to assure my king's life in exchange of my own. I wanted to prove them wrong, show them I can do more than just sit there and sponge up damage or swing a big sword around. That I can do the same things the others can and use magic.” 

The man raises an eyebrow at the teen, feeling a slight bout of familiarity with him, but pushes it aside and continues his interrogation. “Where did you say you found this book?”

“Oh, uh, in my dad’s study. He took my phone from me and I figured he hid it inside his safe, so I broke into it and found the book.” he says, a slight prideful smile ebbing onto his face that quickly goes away when said book meets his skull again. “Ow, damnit.” 

The man sighs and shakes his head, tucking the book into the confines of his many layers of clothing. “Such a tragedy, to be summoned by a dunnderwhelp and a vagrant.”

“Wait, I tried summoning a demon, you just look like an old vagabond.” he says and eeks back a bit as the man’s face goes rigid and cold. 

“That, is none of your concern boy. Just forget this ever transpired and do not attempt things like this again.” the man says and returns to the center of the circle. He closes his eyes and begins to speak in an old dead dialect, the circle glowing a vibrant green color. A bright light flashes, swathing the man completely, but as it fades out he finds himself still in the basement with the teen and his stupid gawking face. “What is the meaning of this!?” he snaps and tries again but fails. He growls lowly as he takes out the tome, looking to the teen with scorn. “What spell did you use?”

“Page three thirty-nine.”

The auburn haired man flips to the page, scanning over it and turning pale. “Child, did you follow the incantation completely?”

“Well, yeah. Used the money I had saved from my birthday to buy the sage bundles, quartz, and candles. I studied the olden Solheim language before so reading it out loud wasn’t an issue. Getting the virgin blood to draw the circle with was a bit hard though.”

“It was to be a virgin sacrifice, their blood used to draw the circle and then their body was to be offered to the summoned demon as tribute.” the man deadpans.

“Oh, guess I didn’t read that far.” the teen says, taking a sheepish look. “So uh, is there a problem?”

“Besides a child with no business using black magic and trying to summon demons for an arrogant reason? Yes, you messed up in the summoning. Instead of giving a sacrifice as a tribute, you instead trapped me to the living person whose blood you took.”

The man can feel a headache forming as the teen makes a face and scratches his cheek, noticing the bandage wrapped around his hand. This, was becoming a true nightmare, even more so than having thousands of screeching demons trapped inside his body for over a few millennia. Ones that now make lewd comments and hiss gleefully at his misfortune along with the ones urging him to tear the boy's heart from his chest. 

“Oh Ifrit, what hell have I been thrown in to?” the man sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“So, are you a demon then?” the boy says with excitement and waits, then huffs when he doesn’t get an answer. “Come on, please?”

The man sighs once more. “No, I am not a demon but I have many trapped inside my body.”

“Oh, how come?” the teen asks, looking greatly intrigued.

“Child, I am too tired and distraught to play historian to you right now. It is late and I wished to relax, take a nice bath and read before you so rudely pulled me away.”

“Well my dad’s bathroom has a large jacuzzi tub. You can use that since he’s away on business and I’m home alone. I can also pick out some books for you to read if you like. We have a nice collection on history, nature too, oh and old battle strategy books.”

The man sighs deeply, wishing he was still back at his estate, but the offer did sound nice. “Very well then, if I am to be stuck here for now with you, might as well make myself at home and enjoy it. Possibly treat it as a vacation of sort.”

“Alright.” the teen says and smiles. “So uh, what’s your name, and where are you from?”

“Those, are of no matters to you.”

“Hey come on, if you’re stuck here for a bit we might as well get to know one another.”

The man rolls his eyes. “Very well. My name is Ardyn Izunia, I hold residence in Niflheim at the moment, but I do travel quite frequently.”

“Oh, cool. My names Gladiolus Amicitia, but most people just call me Gladio.” he says, megawatt smile shining brightly as he extends his unbandaged hand to the man. 

Ardyn looks to the appendage with disdain, making the teen frown. “I am not here to be your best friend child, once I look further into this book about possible ways to reverse the bonding then I shall take my leave. And if you are lucky and do not irritate me further, you may keep your life.” he says glumly, but then takes on a teasing look. “Maybe not some of your limbs though, or an eye.”

The teen’s tan skin turns a shade of white and squeaks with fright that makes the elder man’s lips curl into a devilish grin. Maybe it won’t be too bad, especially if he can continue to cause the teen misery as to amuse himself until he’s freed. Yes, that seems like a splendid idea.


	2. Chapter 2

Ardyn will have to admit, the bath he is currently soaking in is splendidly divine, even if it took him almost half an hour to make his way to the bathroom where it was situated. He couldn’t allow the house’s hideous interior go without a good critique with all it’s muted pink, browns, and tacky floral themes; so many flowers, even the urchin and his little sister were apparently named after flowers. And speaking of the urchin.

“Uh, Sir?” Gladio calls out with a sense of caution in his voice. He got a couple more thwacks to the head for his poor grammar skills and now has taken to using more appropriate terms, especially when he let the boy know he was a Chancellor from a foreign country. The boy’s eyes lit up, most likely with questions and some asinine response but that died quickly when he scowled at the teen. “Are you okay in there? It’s been almost two hours.”

Ardyn looks up at the ornate wall clock and shrugs. It’s no issue for him, he just uses a smidgen of his magic to reheat the water when it gets chilled. Besides, the books offered to him were way to riveting to not finish in one sitting; plus after scouring through the old tome for a reversal spell and finding nothing, him relaxing in the tub was probably the only thing that was saving the wayward little summoner from a good maiming. 

“I am fine child, go back to the chores I gave you.” After his verbal assault on the garish contents of the house, Ardyn had instructed the boy to do a quick rearrangement and clean since he was left to his own device for a few days and the next coming up. 

“I finished them already Sir.” he says and Ardyn can hear him fidget. “I uh made some dinner, if you want. It’s nothing spectacular but it’s at least filling.”

Ardyn frowns, recalling the mountain of packaged noodles on the kitchen counter for the teen’s meals. He can only imagine what the boy had thrown together and is calling food. “No, child, I am quite all right. Now go make sure the mess is cleaned and then work on any school items you may have.”

He has to chuckle a bit to himself as he hears the groan come from the teen as he stomps away. Another hour passes and he finally decides it’s time to drag himself from his relaxing bath, drying himself and redressing, then ventures downstairs where he finds the teen laying atop scattered papers with an open book next to him. Ardyn quietly makes his way over to the boy, looking down at the papers and picking one up to review over. While only passable in legibility, his answers were well defined and, most importantly, correct. He checks a second, then a third, and a fourth, finding them all to be well written and correct. Ardyn eyes the book next, discovering it to be leagues above the reading level for most children his age; while he has seen some with even more aptitude, it’s a lot more then he gave the boy credit for. 

The young brunette shifts around on his paper mess, mumbling to himself before resuming his snoring. Ardyn carefully navigates the paper minefield as he makes his way towards the kitchen, taking brief glances around at the redone decor; still tacky, but passable. A scribbled note on a whiteboard in marker catches his eye, first glaring at what is wrote but then smiling with a hint of bemusement. 

_‘Oh great and mighty Sir Izunia, if you wish to partake in some peasant feed, it’s in the fridge. You just need to heat it up in the microwave. Do you know what that is? Or do they not have them where you are from?’_

If it wasn’t for the nice bath he had just taken or the chance he’d sully his clothing, he would probably add some of the teen’s blood to the decorum after bludgeoning him with the appliance. So instead he opens the refrigerator to find a plate wrapped in foil, taking it out and peeling back the cover, finding something quite surprising; lightly seasoned chicken breast, rice, and vegetables. 

“Hmm, doesn’t look too bad.” he says, and to be petty, he uses his magic to heat up the plate along with the food. He takes a small bite of the chicken, finding it a tad overcooked and in needing of more spice, but he’ll give the boy a passing mark for the effort. 

Soft shuffling and a murmur comes from the teen as he sits up, a paper stuck to his face. “Uh,” Gladio begins, still slightly out of it. “Oh hey, you’re done.”

“Yes.” Ardyn says and pauses momentarily, then takes another bite from his meal. “Your cleanup attempt of the decor was well done, I no longer get a sense of nausea looking at it.”

“Uh, thanks?” the teen says and wipes at his eyes before cleaning up his work. “So did you discover anything about how to reverse the summoning?”

“I’m afraid not, I may have to search deeper in your father’s study, see if perchance a companion tome is there.” 

“Just please make sure if you move anything that it goes back in the exact spot it was found, my dad has this anal retentive thing when it comes to his stuff and how it is placed. I remember using his tobacco pipe once, I made sure to clean it and everything, but I had left it facing the wrong direction. Got a whoopin for that, I believe more for not having it in the correct position then using it.”

“That is,” Ardyn begins and purses his lips. “quite odd.”

“Yeah, well, the Amicitia’s all have a quirk about them.”

“Oh? And what is yours?”

Gladio shrugs. “Don’t really know yet.” he says and then slightly frowns. “I’ve been told I’m not at the level a traditional Amicitia is supposed to be by my age, they even want to delay my training of the Prince since they feel I’m unfit. Even though he’s the one who's unfit, the lazy little brat.” 

“Prince?” Ardyn says with great intrigue as he raises an eyebrow. 

Gladio flushes red and begins to stammer. “Oh, uh, that's umm, you see I’m-”

It finally dawns on Ardyn who the young man is, mentally kicking himself for not recognizing the teen’s surname. “You’re to be the Shield to the future King.”

“Yeah.” he says and flinches away.

Ardyn’s lips curl into a grin, things were starting to look up for him now. Even though it was still relatively early for his grand plan to be set into motion, he could still set a few things on its way. “Intriguing.” he says but then he notices the somber look the teen wears, making him feel something odd. “Something wrong, child?” 

“No, it’s nothing Sir.”

Ardyn can tell the teen is hiding something and as much as he enjoys hearing about others miserable lives, he lets the teen off the hook. It’s not as though he feels a tinge of sympathy for the boy, recalling someone he knew in the same position. So he decides to change the subject and glances around at the photos placed on the walls, noticing one with a much younger version of the youth along with a small toddler. 

“You had mentioned you live with your father and sister, where are they?”

“Oh, my dad’s at the Citadel. Big council meetings going on all week so he’s been staying there. Iris is staying with our mom since it's her month.”

“You’re parents are-”

“They’re divorced. Mom felt angry that my dad treated his job as more important than his family so she left him and now has a fiance she lives with. I see her every other weekend but since Iris is still young and not in school, she stays a month.”

“So you are by yourself now?”

“Yeah, it’s-” Gladio begins but stops and chews on his lip. “It’s not bad. Our butler stops by during the morning before I leave and makes me breakfast. He then leaves me cookies for when I get home to snack.” he says, face lighting up briefly before falling again. “He’s been busy though since his grandson has just been born. I miss him.” Gladio sighs and leans back against the couch behind him. “I wish I could have one of his cookies again.”

Something triggers in Ardyn and without thought, he wills up a cookie that appears in front of the teen. Both men stare in shock at the manifested treat; Gladio with the shock of the item poofing in front of him and Ardyn since he doesn’t even realize he did it.

“Wha?” Gladio says and grabs the cookie, giving it a look over before taking a bite. His face brightens and turns into joy. “Oh my gods, it’s one of Jared’s cookies.” he beams and turns to the still baffled man. “Hey, thanks!”

“I don’t even know what I did.” Ardyn mumbles as he looks at his hands. 

Then it dawns on him; he had been summoned with a spell that would require the demon to grant a wish to the summoner, but the spell was done half-assed and he was tethered to the child. But shouldn’t he be sent back now that he granted a wish? Or due to the hiccup with the spell, he is now trapped here to grant all of the teen’s inane wishes? If this is true, hopefully the kid doesn’t realize it. 

A headache begins forming along with his and the demons’ rage building up. He should probably stay away from the brat before he splatters him across the room. Maybe once the child tucks himself snuggly into his bed he can venture out and test some things or look through the study for possible answers. 

“Boy, would you please show me to where I am to stay?”

“Oh, yeah, this way. We have a couple guest rooms you can pick from.”

The older man follows the teen, eyeing the decorum that grows tackier as they venture into a part of the home Ardyn hadn’t see yet. They arrive before the first of the guest rooms and Ardyn readies himself for the incoming eyesore of what the room on the other side entails. Gladio opens the door and with a quick glance, Adyn slams the door shut with his powers, a deep grimace on his face. 

“The horror.” he cringes and shutters. “Are you all colorblind?” 

Gladio just frowns and leads him to the second guest room, putzing about at first before taking a deep breath and opening the door. This room is, not bad actually. Well, compared to the others it isn’t. Instead of the brownish pink and flowers that make up ninety-nine percent of the house's interior, this room is rustic with wooden paneled walls and dark wood floors.

“Is this better?”

“Truly.” he says and steps inside. “Now run along child, it is imperative for youngins to get their sleep. I’m sure you have a busy day tomorrow.” he says, fighting back the urge to snap or strike him.

Gladio makes a downtrodden face and fidgets a bit. “Yeah, I have a lecture from six to one, then a performance review. After that, I go to Crownsguard training until seven and then I have another performance review. Then I return home and do homework until bedtime.”

Ardyn raises a brow at the child, finding his sullen disposition to be odd. What the boy described doesn’t seem all that terrible, but maybe he’ll follow him tomorrow and see what his day entails. Who knows, maybe he’ll come into contact with a certain royal while he’s about, see how the youth is progressing as well.


	3. Chapter 3

Nothing of interest was found during his ransack of the study, much to Ardyn’s chagrin. Even after not finding any more magic tomes he took to scouring for anything salacious for amusement and found nothing. He had given up his search and decided to attempt leaving the house, thinking maybe if he were to just leave it’d break the spell. Alas, things are not that simple for he only makes it halfway down the street and is stopped by some unforeseen force field. He feels around the barrier, looking like a drunken mime as rubs his hands and bangs against the invisible wall before quivering in anger as his blood pressure rises. 

“What abhorrent hell is this!?” he shrieks, attempting to go the opposite way and finding once again he can not pass. 

He shuts down and he just stands still in the middle of the street for quite a bit, even when it begins downpouring he remains as his mind slowly cracks and he allows himself to slip into insanity. 

Ardyn eventually finds himself standing over the teen’s sleeping form, amber eyes slitting with extreme malevolence that this oversized infant summoned him to this hellhole and now he is trapped. His slender fingers find their way to the boy’s neck, preparing to choke the life from him as a chorus of daemons cheer him on, but he hesitates. No matter how much he wills himself or curses the boy, he can’t bring himself to do it. He feels another throbbing migraine coming on and decides to just go to bed, but he barely sleeps anyway due to the constant screeching and taunting of his internal peanut gallery along with the day's affairs swirling in his mind. 

Ardyn eventually hears the teen awaken early that morning, the child sounding like a plodding Garula, and after making himself invisible he stalks him through his daily routine, finding that he can pass the invisible barrier as long as he sticks by the brunette. 

He eventually realizes his decision to follow the boy was turning into a test of patience, but not in the way he had originally thought it would be. The boy sits ramrod straight and takes notes amongst a group of his peers, most of whom are a bunch of tawdy spoiled brats who seem more interested in their phones or primping then their studies. Whenever the teacher would ask a question, the teen would fidget and go to respond but retract back with a frown. It did annoy Ardyn until he saw firsthand why the boy hesitated so much.

The instructor scans his notes, glasses skewed on his nose and oozing eliteness, before pursing his lips and looking disgruntled. “Despite your mispronunciation of the word ‘Entrepreneur’, you are correct. Good for you.”

It almost makes the Chancellor want to stab the haughty man in the neck when he sees the teen slump into his seat slightly, a look of shame on his face. What's worse, the sniveling brats besides him mock him for answering while some of the females just bat their oversaturated eyelashes at him and make horrible gestures with their lips. The brunette remains in his quiet bubble during the couple breaks given and mostly when the second half of the lecture begins. He takes to fidgeting whenever the instructor asks a question and even when he relents and puts his hand up to answer only to get a blank look and ignored. 

That debacle comes to an end and then there's his review; by the six, that was truly painful to watch. Maybe he should persuade Iedolas to introduce it as a means of torture. The teen stands for a half an hour as a group of stuffy old men and women go over his tests and homework with a fine-toothed comb, asking him questions and rebuking him when he gives his side to a disagreeable matter. Once that is over with, the teen heads to his scheduled training where his liveliness and esteem finally kick into overdrive. 

“Spectacular Amicitia, your stance is much stronger than it was last time we sparred.” a man with a stoic disposition but a slight hint of approval says. “Now, come at me again.”

“Yes sir!” the teen beams.

It almost warms his blackened heart to see the boy look so exuberant at being praised for doing something good and awaiting a biscuit to be tossed his way; almost. Ardyn does have to admit, the teen’s fighting skills are impressive for someone so young and such a large size.

“Phst, lookit fucking Amicitia, such a clod.” 

Ardyn turns his attention to a group of trainees eyeing the other boy and instructor dueling. 

“You know he gets special treatment just because of his family's name, it’s not right. There are way better fighters than him but the Marshal will only train him one on one.”

“I don’t even understand why they train him to fight, his only job is just to stand there and be a meat shield to his Highness.”

“Yeah and I bet he’ll even fail at that.”

The group laugh amongst themselves but then shout in shock and annoyance as the overhead sprinkler sputters on, raining down on them. Ardyn just smiles and rubs at the scruff on his face. 

“Didn’t I tell you all to not smoke in here!?” the instructor snaps, stalking over to the group. 

“But sir we weren’t this time.”

The man scowls and folds his arms. “Then why did the sprinkler set off?” he asks but none of them answer him. “Go do laps around the track, now!” 

The group groans angrily and stomp away, mumbling under their breaths and shooting glares at the man. He sighs and returns to the young teen, continuing with his training. 

A break rolls around with the teen enjoying a snack when a young bespectacled boy joins him, reading from a folder he had tucked under his arm. Ardyn has to restrain the snort at the glazed look the teen takes on as the other boy rambles on, him nodding his head every so often while taking slow bites of his food. He wonders who this boy is, he doesn’t seem like someone the teen would be friends with, maybe it’s a fellow member of the future King’s retinue. He walks over closer, listening to the one-sided conversation and gets his answer.

“He’s becoming even lazier now that his school break is coming up, I have to use bribery to get him to even read for a book report. I hope you can manage to distill some discipline into him when you start his training.” the boy says and before the other can respond, keeps going. “He never makes things easy and he thinks I don’t have enough things on my plate already. I have lectures all morning, early afternoon I attend meetings with my Uncle and I spend the rest of my day tutoring the Prince with his schooling. I barely get breaks and even then I work during them, even now I’m filling you in with the going ons.”

“Sounds more like you’re complaining.” the older boy grumps out, finally getting a few words in that die off as soon as he sees the other's expression. 

Not a very tactful boy, are you? 

“Well I apologize for interrupting ‘your’ break. But not everyone can just sit on their behinds and eat puff pastries after doing a glorified workout routine.” 

The older boy just shrugs and pulls another packaged treat from his pouch. “I brought one for you too.”

The other scoffs and snatches it from his grasp, collecting up his belongings and begins storming away. 

“You know Ignis, you should come here and let off some of that steam. Pull that stick out of your ass and beat people with it.”

“And you will be the first one to get it.”

To anyone not watching them intently, they could take their interaction as hateful and nasty, but Ardyn notices the playful look in both of their eyes and even the smirks spreading on their faces as they separate. 

After finishing his snack, the teen returns to his training, pushing himself harder than anyone else there. He stops suddenly when large ornate doors open, with him looking to a grandly dressed man and salutes him along with the other recruits, a proud look etching onto his face. The man looks around at the trainees, nodding to them before turning to Gladio, a look of scrutiny on his face that turns cold. He gruffly adjusts the boy’s stance; kicking at his feet to be closer, grabbing his elbow and moving it a few inches up, and clutching his chin to turn his face forward. The man nods and gives a pat on the boy’s head before going to speak with the instructors, walking away and not giving anymore regard to the teen. 

Whispers and chuckles come from the other trainees as the teen remains saluting, a smile still on his face that betrays his eyes. Once the man exits the area, Gladio drops his arms and hurriedly returns to his training, ignoring the others who heckle him. His face remains stoic for the rest of the evening, despite the clear hurt in his amber eyes that makes Ardyn feel a bit of pity for the teen. But he remains silent and hidden while following the teen back home for the day, and even after they enter the house he doesn’t make himself noticed. 

Then something odd happens, the teen dumps his bag by the tacky couch and trots off with a look of glee only to return back a few minutes later looking perturbed. He scratches the back of his head before lighting up and dashing off to another part of the house; he returns again looking woeful. The teen heads over to the couch and slumps down, taking out his homework and begins to work. 

The house is depressingly silent save for the ticking of the grandfather clock and the scratching of the teen’s pencil on paper, it’s almost maddening to handle.

“Why hello child,” Ardyn says after making himself appear, fighting back a chuckle at the jump the teen does. “was your day well?” he asks even though he knows the truth.

The teen’s face lights up with elation, almost comically but also a bit sad. “Hey. Yeah, it was fine. How was yours? Did you find out anything interesting?”

“Besides the fact you have trapped me here against my will and there were no other tomes to be found in this garish residence.” he snips but stops and sighs at the teen’s disheartened face. A strange feeling overtakes the man and he decides to show some kindness. “On another note, try wishing for something that isn’t childish or inane, like world peace or a true love to fall onto your pelvis.”

Gladio furrows his brows at the man’s words and Ardyn swears he can see the gears turning in his head. “Okay, uh, I wish for, umm.” he says and rubs at his cheek before grinning. “Two medium-rare steaks with a side of rice and steamed broccoli.” 

Unconsciously, Ardyn wills the items into existence and looks with mild annoyance at the giddy teen. “Really, food?”

“Hey, you didn’t say I couldn’t.” Gladio says and grabs a plate, parking himself at the dining table.

“I guess I didn’t.” Ardyn says and eyes the second plate. “Are you really going to eat all of this yourself? You’ll make yourself sick.”

“That’s your plate.” 

Ardyn goes to snap at him but stops, mulling about what the teen had just uttered. 

It was for him?

Instead of wishing for two helpings for himself as Ardyn had originally assumed, the teen wished one for him to partake in. He looks at the plate for a second, then turns to the boy, seeing his gleeful and eager puppy face as he awaits the man to come sit at the dinner table with him. 

Did the child wish to have a meal with him? It was something he hardly ever does, even with those in his inner circle of higher-ups; mostly since it entailed backstabbing and a few poisonings.

He turns to the teen once more, seeing him waiting patiently, not even having touched his meal as he waits for his ‘guest’ to come join. 

“Very well,” Ardyn begins, slowly grabbing the plate and making his way to the table. “I will join you for a meal. Thank,” he starts, then stops, feeling a bit strange at what he is doing but shakes his head and sits down. “thank you.”

“You’re welcome, sir.” the teen says with much joy.

Gladio says a prayer before they begin eating, one Ardyn faintly remembers from many years ago and then turns to grilling the older man for more information about himself. He gives in marginally, telling him tales of his travels and things he had experienced in the past, but still hides the facts he’s from Niflheim, over a millennium in age, and has a legion of vitriolic daemons in his being that urge him to hurt the boy. But Ardyn decides to turn the tables and needle the boy, remaining subtle as to not give away he was with him early.

“Do you have any good friends who you mingle with during your spare time? It’s hard to believe someone your age wouldn’t.”

“I don’t actually.” he says, looking slightly crestfallen but then perks up a bit. “But I have an acquaintance I talk to sometimes, we even joke with each other on occasions.” Gladio tells him but then returns to the frowning face. “Although ninety-nine percent of the time we do talk it’s about a certain spoiled brat.” 

“Is there no one else?”

“Well a few of the older trainees will come hang with me when they’re around, they’re all pretty cool, unlike the ones my age. Plus my superior takes me out for ice cream whenever I master a required skill.” Gladio tells him and then takes a cheeky look. “Or if I knock him on his ass during training.”

“Ah, I see. Still seems quite lonely.”

“Yeah, it can be.” he says and then his face grows soft. “But not when my little sister’s around. She’s spunky and feisty, always keeping me on my toes with her little sneak attacks and traps. They allow her sometimes to sit and watch me train, she’s my little cheerleader, but she has been banned a couple times for kicking people in the shins who were I guess mocking me.”

“She sounds darling.” 

Gladio smiles fondly despite the knit forming in his brows as he returns to eating. “She is.”

“So child, is your schedule full tomorrow?”

“Just the afternoon. I don’t have morning lectures, just Crownsguard training like I did today. Any reason?”

“I was thinking that perchance we could stop by a library or a shop that sells more ‘occultist’ wares.” 

“Oh, that’s right, we need to figure out how to release the spell.” Gladio says, face falling again. “Well do you know what you are looking for exactly? I can go look for you tomorrow.”

“No need, I do believe I can navigate the city as long as I stick by you.”

“Oh, awesome, yeah I know a few places we can check.”

Ardyn smiles and nods to the boy then returns to eating his meal and thinks about returning back to his estate, despite the pulling feeling in his chest that seems to set the daemons into a shrieking frenzy.


	4. Chapter 4

Ardyn watches with amusement as the teen scuttles about, quickly making sure his chores are done before they head out. He’s still surprised the child hadn’t wished for the house to be cleaned to just get it over with, or even wished for something extravagant for breakfast; the boy had made a passable omelet for them both with a side of toast and sausage links. 

“You know child, with a simple phrase your chores can be done with.” he tells him, slightly growing impatient as the teen rechecks all his prior work.

“I know, but that would be a waste of your magic.” he says and resituates a statue, frowns at it, then moves it back. “Besides, that’s the easy and lazy way to do it.”

The older man can’t help but smile at the teen, finding his determination and discipline to be truly inspiring. It reminds him of someone from long ago, someone who he had all but forgotten and that makes him truly sad.

“All right, let's go.” the teen says and grabs up his coat along with his duffle for training, turning to look at the man but finding him gone. “Sir?”

“I’m here child, just hidden myself. I’m sure it would not look appropriate for a strange grown man to be following a young boy around.”

“Ah, yeah, that’s true. Everyone knows me around here and it’s not like I can just lie and call you my granddad.” Gladio chuckles and feels a flick to his forehead. “Geez, just playing with you.”

“No time for that, we must get a move on to the bookstore. Hopefully, I can find what I need to reverse this damned spell and return home.” 

Ardyn feels a slight tinge in his chest after uttering those words but ignores it along with the pout the teen lets slip. The twosome make their way downtown, the teen being stopped by everyone who crosses his path with some fawning over how handsome he is, others asking about his father, and those who think it’s their business to badger the teen over their grievances with the Parliament’s recent votes and orders. 

They arrive at the store, a rather macabre place that makes Ardyn feel rather at home, with the man skulking off by himself and reappearing to begin scouring. Not even a few minutes after searching, the teen invades his personal space with his behemoth sized form and stupid childlike grin. 

“Found you.” he says, a slight pep to his voice. 

Ardyn feels his eyes roll unwittingly. “Hmm, yes, I suppose you did.” he says and glances at the book stuffed up under the teen’s armpit. “Have you found something? I hope it's not a summoning book, you may not get lucky next time and summon something that will gouge out your eyes.”

“Nah, it’ll be okay, I’ll just punch them.” Gladio says, eyes shining brightly and stupid grin growing even wider. “Ow.”

Ardyn groans after swatting the boy on his hard head with a pamphlet and returns to looking through the shelves. “For a future Shield of the King, you lack self-preservation.”

“Got to get used to putting myself in harm's way and triumphing over adversity. When your only purpose is to stand between an enemy and your Liege th-ow.” the teen whimpers and rubs his head after getting another swat.

“Have some dignity boy, you are not cattle bred to be used for one purpose, then get tossed away when you can’t perform your duty any longer.” 

The teen frowns greatly. “We don’t get tossed away, we die.”

Ardyn’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise, looking to the teen who has turned and started walking away. 

It wasn’t like that back during his time, sure his guardian was there to protect him although that wasn’t his only purpose, he was a human with his own life to live. Had something changed when his guardian became his brother’s instead?

He begins to feel a twinge in his chest, one that sets the daemons in him into a tizzy, but he forces it away as always and returns to his task. 

Or at least he tries. 

He constantly finds himself looking to the teen as he solemnly pokes at books and moves when the boy goes out of eyesight. Ardyn can’t figure out what it is that makes him feel despondent seeing the urchin look akin to a kicked puppy; he never had children to have parental feelings nor is he having untoward inclinations towards the teen. 

Maybe it has to do with him being ensorcelled? 

Ardyn resumes his hunt for a book, coming across two that seem promising that both contain spells to break one already cast. Hopefully one of them will work. He goes to pay for his books, finding the teen at the checkout counter as well with a few books of his own preparing to pay. Something overcomes the older man as he sets his books onto the counter and gently moves the teen aside. 

“I shall pay for the young man’s books as well.”

Gladio’s face lights up. “Thank you, sir. You don't have to, I have some of my allowance left over.”

“Save it.” he says and hands the books over to the boy. Ardyn steps outside first then waits for the teen to join him. “So what have you gotten for yourself?”

“One’s about old folktales and legends, the other is on Cryptozoology.”

“Odd, but interesting nonetheless.”

“Were you able to find something?”

“Yes, two different reversal spells. But I'll need to look over them better.”

“Ah, I see.” the teen says and looks at his watch. “Well, we should probably get you back to my home and then you can look over your books some more.” 

“Actually I’ll just stick with you today if you don’t mind.” 

The teen looks curiously at him and goes to ask a question Ardyn already knows how to answer by making himself invisible. Gladio blinks for a beat but then smiles goofily and continues on to where he is to have his daily training. 

After placing his duffle into his locker and bashfully changing inside a stall, the teen begins his daily regiment as Ardyn remains hidden, skulking about while occasionally retreating to a corner to read over the tomes he has once again. 

The one spell seems simple enough, needing only a minor amount of blood from the summoner to be mixed with some herbs and spring water. Then the solution is to be drunk by the original caster, be passed by a kiss to the entangled one before the both of them read off an incantation. The spell seems too rudimentary to actually work, but then again a simple-minded teen was able to summon him with only a basic spell. 

The other spell is more intricate, needing days to prepare and a variety of elements to be used. But the thing most troubling about the spell is what it requires in exchange for it to potentially activate. 

While it isn’t beneath him to maim an annoying dignitary or bed someone and take advantage of them to advance his goals, it is when the victim is an agonizingly naive and innocent young boy who he begrudgingly will admit he feels _slightly_ sorry for. He’s not for sure if he should potentially search another establishment for more tomes, or suck it up and try the simpler incantation first, even if the prospect of kissing the whelp makes him uneasy. 

Ardyn lets out a deep sigh and returns back to where he left the boy, finding him in dire straits. An older boy has him by the throat, screaming in his face as the teen remains unyielding in his grasp only to get a punch to the face for his effort. The Chancellor feels his ire rise, not only against the aggressor but for the younger boy who won’t fight back. He’s to be the future King’s Shield, and he can’t even fend off a bully? 

“You’re a pathetic loser and the only reason you're here is because of who your daddy is.” the older boy taunts.

“You’re the one who's pathetic, wasting your time slacking off and picking fights when you should be training to protect the Crown City and its people.” 

This earns the boy another strike and a shove backward but the teen remains undeterred and holds his ground. It was then the door leading into the training room is shoved open and the trainer from before storms in, eyeing the group of teens that scurry into formation and salute him. He stalks in front of them silently, taking brief stops to look a few up and down before halting at Gladio. His face goes cold and then steps over to stand before the teen that struck him, his face going from haughty to terrified. 

“I wasn’t aware I assigned you the task of training with Amicitia, or am I being forgetful?”

“N, no sir you uh didn’t and you’re n, not.” the teen whimpers out, body trembling. 

“Then why is his face smashed up!?” the man snaps, getting in the teen’s face who looks about ready to cry. “Drop and give me one hundred, now! And the rest of you hit the showers.” he orders and then walks over to Gladio. The man looks down at the boy, letting a deep sigh escape him as he shakes his head. “I know it’s been instilled in you that a Shield is to not harm a Crown citizen and only raise a strike against those who wish to harm their Liege, but you can at least dodge the attacks.”

“Yes sir.” the teen says, sounding slightly down. But he begins to smile softly as his hair is ruffled slightly and gets a pat on the shoulder. 

“Good, go get cleaned up too, you have a performance review in a half hour.”

The teen bows to his superior and scampers off, not noticing the look of despair the other man gets before shaking his head and turning back to the punished teen. Ardyn rubs at his scruffy chin, knowing why the boy didn’t fight back; he finds it incredibly stupid. Although, he’s now getting a strange sinking feeling of what is to come for the boy next, especially after the face his instructor made.

It couldn’t be any worse than the ones he had the prior day, could it? Not that he truly cared, not one bit. 

The teen skips from the locker room, all crisply clean and bright-eyed in his fatigues despite his face still puffy from the punches early. Ardyn remains hidden as he follows the boy, stopping to watch as he greets everyone who crosses his path and unabashedly flirts with the maids who just titter and fuss over him while patting him on his head. The auburn haired man rolls his eyes and lets an annoyed groan slip that startles the boy as he once again stops, this time to pet an old fat cat perched on a stone banister.

“Oh, hello sir.” he says, glancing around at thin air. “You don’t have to come with me you know, you can stay here. There's a bench over there by the flower bushes for you to sit and read if you like. Unless you want to watch me get picked apart by a bunch of stodgy old people and my dad.” 

Ardyn materializes himself before the teen, shaking his head at the goofy smile he gets from the boy. “Sounds riveting.” he says and heads towards the garden.

He immerses himself back into the books he purchased earlier, finding other spells that are quite intriguing. While not ones to help free him, he’s sure a replication spell will be quite useful sometime later. Ardyn is so enthralled in his book he doesn’t even notice the movement coming from the bushes until a mop of black hair pokes forward and looks around before disappearing again. 

“Highness!” an accented voice calls out with extreme annoyance.

Ardyn quickly makes himself invisible just as the boy with the glasses storms past, looking quite fatigued and done. He comes back over and scans the area before huffing in anger. 

“Noctis it is dinner time and you will eat it whether you like green bean casserole or not.” he snaps and looks around.

“Still no luck, my boy?” an older man says and places his hand on the boy's shoulder.

“I’m sorry Uncle, I don’t know where else he could have gotten off to.”

“Don’t worry, he’ll come out once he gets hungry enough.” he says and leads his nephew from the gardens. 

Once the two are out of sight, the young boy peeks back out from the bushes and crawls out. He quickly dusts himself off and nonchalantly plops down onto the bench, narrowly avoiding sitting on the hidden man, and takes out a phone that he begins to play on. 

Ardyn stares at the young boy, feeling the daemons begin to bubble forth as they hiss and spit at him, then a sinister grin spreads across his face when it finally dawns on him. It was the one he has been waiting centuries to appear, the Chosen One. 

His glee quickly morphs into annoyance, recalling what the bespectacled boy and Gladio had said about this child, that he was basically a spoiled brat and lazy. 

Oh no, that would not be permitted of the True King, not at all. 

He debates whether to show himself and scare the little snot onto the straight and narrow or see to it he gets the adequate training needed by ragging on the oaf when he returns. He decides neither are proper at the moment when he hears a door slam loudly and hurried footsteps approaching. 

“Gladiolus!” a deep voice snaps loudly, making the footsteps stop. A sharp and painful slap echoes through the air, making the young Prince gasp and Ardyn feel a seething rage bubbling forth. “Don’t you ever disgrace your heritage or King before the council again by appearing in a manner as you are now. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I will be returning home briefly tomorrow, I expect the house to be immaculate and the outside be maintained. If I find one spec of dust or blade of grass uncut, you will be punished.”

“I understand.”

“Good, and know this, you disappointed me greatly tonight and you should be ashamed.” 

Loud footsteps come closer to the gardens, stopping to stare at the shell-shocked Prince who looks mortified at the large ornately dressed man. Ardyn can hear the boy’s breathing increase, sounding less scared and more incensed as his body begins to tremble.

“Highness, you should be on your way to the dining hall. Your father will be there shortly and will expect you there as well.” 

The boy remains seated briefly, staring down the older man unwaveringly until the elder turns back and bows as the King steps forward. 

“Noctis, it is dinner time. Go to the dining hall or you will be given no dessert tonight.” 

The young Prince gives one last scowl to the elder Shield and jumps from the bench, dashing away as the King sighs with exasperation. 

“You are too soft with him, Regis.” the Shield whispers.

“And you are too hard on yours, Clarus.” the King retorts as he begins to walk away, the other man a few steps behind and looking greatly perturbed. 

Once the two are out of sight, Gladio steps forward with his head down and makes his way into the gardens, sniffling and wiping at his eyes. 

“Let’s go home now, I have a lot to get done tonight before it gets too dark.”

Ardyn regains himself and gently places his fingers under the boy’s chin, lifting his head up to see his face. The teen refuses to make eye contact and looks with wet eyes off to the side as he snuffles up some blood that trickles from a nostril. Then he notices a new bruise swelling in the shape of a handprint adorning his cheek. 

That was when the last of his resolve crumbles, him pulling the boy into a tight embrace. He begins stroking his hair and patting his back, the teen beginning to tremble and trying to keep his emotions contained. 

Not only did the boy remind him of his former guardian, but he begins to recall another young man, one who had so much expectation thrust upon his young body and was beaten tremendously when he didn’t meet the lofty standards set forth. Someone who became embittered as he got older and shut off his own feelings so as not to interfere with his duty. That brokenness and hatred ultimately being what allowed the daemons in him to fester so greatly they overtook his body and made him unclean in the eyes of the Astrals.

It reminded him, of himself.


	5. Chapter 5

Ardyn watches in silence as the boy runs around his home, making sure everything is cleaned up and returned to where it belongs. He had offered to use his magic to return the house to its prior state and make it spotless, but the stubborn boy refused. Even when Ardyn suggested he stop to have a meal the teen only wished one up for the elder and resumed his task. It was exhausting to watch. But he understands why he does this, it’s been beaten into him that he has to do these things on his own, that no one will be there to hold his hand or make life easy and if he can’t follow any tasks given to him he is worthless. The teen finally stops, wiping the sweat from his brow and looking around in case he missed anything. 

“Are you finished now, child?” Ardyn says, frowning at the decorum. “It looks just as tacky as the day I arrived.”

“I think so.” Gladio replies and rubs at his eyes. “But I’ll recheck it in the morning to make absolutely sure before he arrives.”

“Is this something that has been going on for years? Or only recent?”

Gladio nibbles on his lip and furrows his brows. “It’s, been like this since I was young.”

“And what of your sister?”

“Oh gods no, he wouldn’t do this to her.”

“But he does you.”

“Because I’m the next Shield.”

“What if she was?”

This causes the teen to turn slightly pale and tremble. “Then I failed as an Amicitia, as a Shield, and as an older brother.” 

Ardyn frowns at the teen, feeling a slight bit of pity for him that gets the daemons in a tizzy. This boy, why does he have to be such a sad whelp? Gladio rubs his eyes once more, letting a soft yawn escape him as he turns to head down the hall.

“Are you not going to eat something? I barely even seen you snack while training today. It’s not healthy for the body to forgo food.” Ardyn tells the boy. “Eat an apple with some peanut butter, it will help with the transport of tryptophan and help regulate your sleep.” he schools and then looks crossly at the snickering boy. “What, pray tell, is so amusing to you boy?”

“You sound like the Marshal, he’s always talking up health stuff like that.” 

Ardyn recalls the dour-faced instructor, the one who seems to show some care for the teen. Gladio relents and takes a few minutes to have a quick snack before he tucks himself into bed, leaving Ardyn to his own musings. The man flits about the house, rechecking everything himself since he knows what the boy’s father will more than likely be searching for. Once he finishes his recleaning, he decides a nice bath is in order and takes his new books with him. He must have lost track of the time for when he finally removes himself from the tub and puts it back in the state it was prior, he hears movement coming from the main area. 

Ardyn checks his pocket watch, finding it to be about five-thirty in the morning, and sighs. Was the teen already up and about checking things again, or had his father shown up for his inspection. It’s neither. An old man unloads a bag of groceries into the cabinets before opening the fridge and frowning. He pulls out a half-gallon of milk and checks its date before dumping it down the sink, replacing the container with a brand new one. After putting the items away he looks around, doing a similar sweep of the premise just as Ardyn had. Who was this man? 

“Jared!” an excited voice calls out as the teen plods into the main room, dressed and way to chipper for this time of the day. “You’re here early, everything going well for you?”

“Yes, quite all right my boy.” the old man says and turns to the teen, his once cheery smile falling. “Gladiolus, your face, did you get into a fight during training?”

“I uh, yeah, I did.” he says as he touches the bruises on his face.

The man shakes his head. “You know your father will be displeased.”

“He knows.”

The man’s face falls even more, but then he perks back up and goes to retrieve something from a satchel by the doorway. “Well, I made sure the pantry was restocked before I head back to my son’s to help with my Grandson. I also made you these.” he says and pulls out a white box that makes the teen look with excitement. 

“Thanks, Jared, you’re the best.” the teen says gratefully and takes the box. 

The older man smiles warmly and pats the teen’s cheek before saying farewell and exiting the house. Gladio looks down fondly at the box, opening the top and looking inside before taking out one of the items from inside.

“Isn’t it a bit early to be partaking in sweets?” Ardyn calls out, holding himself from laughing as the teen yips in surprise and returns the cookie to the box.

“Oh, good morning.” he says as he turns and smiles at him. “You’re up early.”

He actually hadn’t slept, but he wasn’t going to tell him that. “So I assume that man was your butler?” 

“Yeah, that was Jared.” the teen says, a happy smile on his face as he holds the white container to his chest. 

But the sound of heavy boots startles the teen as he quickly places the box into a cabinet and makes sure his clothing is tidy before waiting by the door with a stiffness rivaled only by the statues on the mantle. Ardyn makes himself invisible just as the door opens, seeing the teen’s father step inside and bypass his bowing son as he goes to remove his jacket. The elder looks at his son, the boy standing straight up with his eyes forward, and shakes his head at him. Then the agonizingly slow process of the man white gloving every inch of the house begins. Gladio breath hitches every time his father takes a second look at something he had prior, but then relaxes when he makes a pleased grunt and moves along. After what seemed like a tense hour, the man steps back inside from his scour of the outdoors, standing before his son with his military rigidness. 

“You have kept the property maintained, well done.”

“Thank you father.” the teen says and tries to force down the soft smile that slips onto his face as the elder Amicitia places his hand on his son’s head before retreating towards his room.

“I spoke to Jared and he informed me he had dropped off groceries for you, I still have meetings all today so when your mother drops off Iris, I’ll need you to watch her.”

“Yes, father.” Gladio says, another warm smile forming on his lips. 

The elder man returns from his room with a suit inside a bag before collecting up his jacket. “I shall try to make it home in time before dinner, if not prepare something healthy for your sister. Not just noodles.”

“Yes, sir.”

His father leaves and Gladio lets out an exhausted sigh, rubbing his eyes as he heads into the kitchen. “You want breakfast?”

“Hmm, yes, wish up something hearty for us both.”

Gladio beams brightly and does as told with Ardyn willing the food into existence for them. They make a plan to hit up a few more shops in hopes of finding more reversal spells, but too for Ardyn to start collecting items that seem to be needed in either spell. Gladio does a quick search and finds three that meet almost all of the requirements need. The first establishment holds the candles and roots needed, while the second a skull top cup that makes the teen grimace. Neither house any new spells to try out, just the same ones he already has possession of. As they make their way to the third, Ardyn notices the teen looking longingly at a park across the street where groups of families spend time together, laughing and cherishing one another. 

“A place you are familiar with?” 

“Yeah, we would go there to have family picnics during the summer. Mom would read to Iris under a large oak tree as Dad would teach me to ride my bike and tell me about all the fun adventures he had when he was younger. It was so much fun.” he says and then his face falls slightly. “Now we just visit here with Jared every so often.”

“Oh? Do you wish to stop momentarily, toss around a ball or something?”

Gladio snorts at this. “No, it’s okay, we have more important things to do right now.”

“Very well, I shall save throwing things for you to catch for a later time.”

The two arrive at the third place, the teen groaning when he reads a sign disallowing those under the age of eighteen and parking himself on a bench with a huff. Ardyn pats the teen on his head and promises to purchase him something once he’s done before heading inside to stalk the wares, finding the interior to be quite to his liking with its bohemian touch and rather expansive collection of baubles. He finds three books, two of them the same with the one being the sacrifice or sex spell and the other the simpler spell. The third offers something a bit new while having a similar set up to the basic spell, instead of a kiss the summoner must give up something they hold dear. 

Ardyn purchases the tome along with some items of interest for use once he returns back to his own abode, plus a bottle of liquor and an interesting necklace he believes the teen would find ‘cool’. But when he exits the building he doesn’t find the teen where he had left him. A quick look around doesn’t turn him up and he can’t see the oversized boy roaming the park either. He feels a deep annoyance fill him but that slowly subsides when he spies a couple teen boys peek from an alleyway, only to grin and head back inside. 

Ardyn feels a rare chill run down his spine as he follows them down the long alley, turning a few corners until he comes to a dead-end. There he finds a small cluster of boys surrounding two who duke it out quite violently. The older man rolls his eyes, knowing who one of them probably is. Sure enough, the whelp is there, nose smashed up and bloodied, but at least he’s fighting back this time. Ardyn goes to snap at the group until he hears the teen yelp and gasp in pain as another one of the boys jump in unfairly, him stumbling back as he holds his side. The auburn haired man goes stiff as he sees the other boy brandish a rather large blade, it covered in a deep crimson liquid and begins to laugh as he descends upon the slumping teen. 

A darkness overtakes him as he watches the blade wielder grab up the teen and press the sharp edge against his cheek as he mocks him vehemently. 

“Boys,” a guttural and vitriolic voice sneers out, making the group stop dead in their tracks and slowly turn with looks of terror as they see what is behind them. “leave him, NOW!”

The group runs screaming from the alley, leaving the gasping and bleeding teen with the hellish form of what was once Ardyn. He walks over to the boy and finds him bleary-eyed and trying so hard to not cry from the pain in his side, feeling a strange twang in his chest as he returns to his normal form. Ardyn crouches down before the young teen, touching his blood covered hand gently and shushing him as he tries to speak. Tears stream down the boy’s cheeks, him beginning to hiccup as he continues to hold onto himself. 

Ardyn racks his brain for what to do, taking him to the hospital was out of the question since it would bring way too many problems then needed, but it isn’t possible for him to carry the child back to his home to be bandaged either. It only leaves him with one potential solution, if he can even fully still do it. He takes out the bottle of liquor he purchased, calling on the power of his bloodline to enchant the bottle and watches as it begins to sparkle and glow. It seems to have worked.

“Drink this child, it’ll heal you. Ardyn says and offers the bottle to the wounded boy but gets refused. “Drink it, I will not have you bleed all over this filthy back alley, that is undignified for someone of your pedigree.”

“It’s, alcohol sir.” 

Ardyn sighs greatly. “I changed its property, it will heal you, now drink it.” he snaps and shoves the bottle into the teen's mouth. Ardyn pulls the bottle away once he’s sure Gladio drank enough and then checks the wound, finding it to have stopped bleeding. “There now, feeling better?”

“I few fun-e.” the brunette mumbles out, cheeks flushed and eyes lulling about.

Ardyn purses his lips. Well, it did work somewhat at least.


	6. Chapter 6

Ardyn groans with exasperation as he once again has to stealthily nudge the drunken teen back into place as he begins to veer off the sidewalk, thinking it probably would have been way easier just to pick him up and carry him back, onlookers be damned. The brisk walk back to Gladio’s home did help sober him up a bit though, but with it, the stinging pain in his side begins to be felt now that it doesn’t have an inhibitor. 

He now lays sprawled on his couch, clutching an ice pack to his side with a bucket set on the floor next to him. Ardyn sits across from him reading over his newest book while also glancing up any time the teen fidgets and whimpers, then averting his eyes when the boy vomits from the alcohol but also the stress he has endured. He really doesn’t know what else to do for the boy, especially since he refuses any drinks offered to him, even the ones not infused with magic. Maybe food?

“Child, why don’t you try and eat something. Like toast or crackers. I’m sure it’ll help your stomach.”

Gladio makes the most pitiful expression and shakes his head. “I’m fine.”

Ardyn frowns deeply and returns to his book as the teen shuffles about, groaning softly until he finds a position that is comfortable. It’s not much longer until Ardyn can hear soft steady breathing coming from the teen, looking up and seeing that he has finally fallen asleep. He quietly closes his book and gets up from the chair, walking over to the boy and gently pulling the throw blanket over the back of the couch around him. He tucks him in, allowing a brief smile escape him before he realizes what he is doing and cringes, remembering that this little brat trapped him here while trying to play summoner. 

But still, as he looks at this sad sack before him, he feels a twinge of woe for him and his miserable little life. Just a small bit. He decides to let the boy sleep and heads off to retrieve his other books, skimming through them and stopping on one spell that had intrigued him before. Ardyn stands before a large mirror that was covered in the basement, looking at his reflection as he chants from the book. He lets his mind go blank before an image comes to his mind and a white light engulfs him. Instead of his own form staring back at him, it is instead replaced by a person from his past.

“Hmm, it worked, this will be quite useful.” he says and cancels the spell after reading off that incantation, returning back to himself. Oh, the dastardly things he can do with this particular spell. 

But the sounds of little feet pattering against the floor above catches his attention, knowing they are way too soft to be the plodding teen’s. It’s then he hears the squeaky voice of a young girl and remembers the boy’s little sister was returning home. Ardyn once again makes himself invisible and travels upstairs, finding himself fighting off a soft smile as he watches the teen crouched down before the girl, her arms outstretched and a saddened look on her face as she limbs around his neck. 

“Gladdy what happened!? Did those bullies beat you up again? Cause if they did I’m gonna go beat them up!” 

“Iris you know you can’t do that, it’s not nice.”

“But them beating you up is not nice either. You need to defend yourself or else I will!” she says and puffs out her cheeks. But then she stops and stares directly where Ardyn is standing, eyes going wide and pointing. “Gladdy, who’s that?” 

Ardyn flinches back in shock, he knows he made himself invisible, so how could this child see him? He watches as Gladio looks where his sister is pointing, furrowing his brows as he scans the area.

“I don’t see anything.”

“But there is someone!” she says and looks scared. “Gladdy is it a ghost?”

The teen looks unsure of how to respond to his sister, so Ardyn decides to reveal himself since it seems the girl can see him anyway. Both siblings yelp in surprise as he manifests, him grinning with amusement at their faces.

“See!? I told you someone was there!” the girl snaps at her brother, no longer looking scared before she looks at the man and smiles. “Hi, I’m Iris, what’s your name? Are you a ghost mister?”

Ardyn chuckles and quickly thinks up a lie. “My name is of no matter, my child. And yes, I am a ghost.” he says and brings a finger to his lips. “So I must ask for you and your brother to keep quiet about me or else I can’t do what I need to and move on.” he tells her and almost snorts at the sad face she makes.

“That’s terrible, I’ll keep you a secret so you can go into the afterlife.” Iris says and looks up at her brother incredulously. “You better listen to Gladdy.” 

“Oh, huh sure, yeah.” he says and forces a smile and sets his sister down.

The little girl bounds over to Ardyn, looking up at him bright-eyed and with intrigue. “So why are you stuck here Mister Ghost?”

The auburn haired man takes a quick glance back at the teen, gleefully watching him squirm under his gaze before looking back down at the little cherubic faced girl. “I was summoned by a very naughty person who shouldn’t have been messing around with magic and until I can figure out a way to unbind myself, I can’t leave.”

“Okay! Me and Gladdy can help in any way you need Mister Ghost!”

“Thank you dear, but don’t worry yourself about me,” he says and looks back over to the red-faced teen. “I have most of what I need already. Just have to begin preparing.”

The girl smiles big, mirroring the dumb grin her brother has made before and making Ardyn chuckle softly. “So can you do anything cool? Like, fly or go through walls?”

“Iris.” Gladio says with a scolding tone and gets a bratty look from the girl. “Stop bugging him with questions, okay? 

“Oh all right.” she says with a pout but then becomes cheery again. “I’m hungry Gladdy! Make me noodles, please!?”

“Sorry Iris, but dad said I have to make you something besides Cup Noodles.”

“But that’s what I want. You make them really good.” Iris whines.

“I can’t, I’m sorry.”

“No fair!” the little girl whines again and turns to Ardyn, giving him a sad face. “Mister Ghost, you’re an adult, tell Gladdy it’s okay for him to make me noodles.”

“I am sorry, child, but your brother is correct. Besides, do you want your father to be mad and spank you for not listening?”

“Papa doesn’t spank me, he just makes me sit for five minutes and then I have to apologize.”

Ardyn purses his lips and looks from the smiling girl to her brother, seeing his face fall slightly before it’s masked away behind a smile. “I see. Well no matter, you should listen to your brother. He is taking care of you at the moment and was given strict orders by your father from what I overheard.”

“Okay.” Iris sighs out before turning to her brother. “Can I help you make dinner then?”

“Yeah.” he says and crouches down in front of her. “You can help me measure the rice and beans, but first you need to put your bag away.”

“All right, and then I’ll help you make dinner Gladdy!” she cheers and runs off. 

Gladio sighs but smiles before looking to Ardyn, only for his smile to slowly dissipate into a frown as he looks at him. “Sorry, I don’t know how she was able to see you.”

“Well, it is said small children, like animals, can see or feel paranormal things.”

“Maybe.” 

“Hmm. She’s quite spunky though and seems like a darling.”

The teen beams brightly at this. “She’s my precious baby sister.”

“A bit spoiled though, isn’t she?”

The teen looks up with anger at the man before sighing defeatedly and looking down. “Kind of, but it’s not her fault. Mom and Dad just want her to be happy and not think about them being divorced or the growing tension going on around the city and the outside world. You know, just be a kid.”

“And what of you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Are you ever to be allowed to be a kid anymore?”

Gladio bites his lip before looking down at his feet and fiddling with his fingers. “Well, I play games with Iris.” 

“How often is that?”

“We have a game night on Fridays when she’s not at our Mom’s and I’m not late from training. So maybe once or twice every other month?” 

Ardyn frowns at this and goes to ask the boy another question but stops when the little brunette girl bounds back into the room and grabs her brother’s arm, giving it a slight tug.

“Come on Gladdy, let's start making dinner!”

“Okay, okay, I’m coming.” he says and snickers at her enthusiasm.

Iris stops briefly and gives a smile to Ardyn. “Are you hungry Mr. Ghost? Do you want to help us make food and eat with us?”

“I am quite all right child, do not fret about me and just have fun with your brother.”

“Oh, okay then.” she says, slightly pouty but yanks on her brother’s arm and leads him over to the kitchen. 

Ardyn watches the siblings silently, finding them greatly amusing when they bicker one moment but then giggle and fling bits of ingredients at each other. It makes him think back and how things could have been different between him and his brother if they were to have gotten along instead of being pitted as rivals. 

But he is dragged from his thoughts and has to quickly hide when the front door opens, with their father walking in. The two stop in their tracks, with Gladio looking with slight fear before taking a rigid military stance while his sister titters and runs to him.

“Papa, you’re home!”

“Hello Iris.” he says taking a soft tone and patting her on her head despite looking with displeasure at her messy appearance. “Did you have fun at your mother’s.”

“Yup, but I’m happy to be back home with you and Gladdy.” 

“That’s good.”

“We even started to get things ready for dinner too, we’re going to make you a nice meal.”

The elder looks incredulously at the mess. “Hmm, I see. But since you haven’t really started anything, why don’t you go get washed up and we go out to dinner instead. We haven’t done that in a while.”

“Yea! Okay, papa!” the tiny girl cheers and dashes off. 

The room goes tense once she’s out of sight, with the patriarch turning to his son and looking with dissatisfaction. “I expect this to be cleaned up by the time we return.”

“Yes sir.” the teen says almost robotically that it makes Ardyn grimace. 

The teen immediately begins tidying up as his sister returns, but she stops and looks with a pout at her older brother before turning to her father.

“How come Gladdy’s not ready? Isn’t he going too?”

“He’s grounded and needs to clean up this mess you two made.”

Iris takes on a petulant look and folds her arms, turning away from her father. “I want him to come with, we never go out together as a family anymore, not since mama moved out to go live with her friend.” 

Gladio winces and stops what he is doing as his father sighs with a head shake. 

“Gladiolus, go get cleaned up, quickly.”

Iris cheers happily and gives her father a hug as the teen retreats to his room to get changed, letting a small smile slip out that only Ardyn notices.


	7. Chapter 7

The little family outing seemed to raise the whelps spirits from what Ardyn could see after their return, it almost made him feel something warm and fuzzy inside, but then again that was probably just the thousands of daemons rousting inside him throwing a pissfit for still not shivving the child. But they get their little fun after the peppy little sister is tucked in bed for the night because that is when the teen starts cleaning up the mess in the kitchen under the scrutinizing eye of his father. 

The teen is currently on his hands and knees, scrubbing intently at the linoleum with a toothbrush that he occasionally dips in bleach water. Ardyn has seen Niflheim prison guards treat their convicts with more compassion. The smell is strong from even where he stands, he can only imagine how bad it is for the teen. 

Eventually, the area is scrubbed spotless and the teen heads off to bed, leaving his father and the invisible Ardyn alone. He watches as the man sets himself on the tacky couch, taking his phone out and sending some texts. Ardyn sneaks over and glances at the device, seeing a message come back quickly that the man replies to. He assumes it’s the man’s ex-wife by the conversation, it pertaining to the young girl and how her time there with her mother. But he begins to notice a lack of a certain person being mentioned in their discussion, even when he should have been brought up. 

_“Our child is wonderful and perfect. Please tell Iris I love her very much, give her lots of hugs and kisses for me and tell her I can’t wait to see her again.”_

Ardyn’s eyebrows quirk in confusion and boiling anger. The teen had called her his mother too, so it wasn’t like she was a stepmother and the girl only belonged to her. Was there no one else in the urchin's life besides his grizzled instructor, the little steward in training, the old butler, and his sister that truly cared for him? And even so, two of them were because of his servitude to the crown, one was duty, and the other familial. 

Ardyn lets a sigh escape him and then almost snorts as the man flinches from his couch in fright, frantically looking around before shaking his head and rubbing at his face with a groan. He heads off to his bed finally leaving Ardyn to skulk around, read from his magic books, raid the fridge, contemplates setting the hideous drapes on fire, and most definitely not making sure the oaf and his little sister are sleeping snuggly. 

Morning finally arrives with the teen and his father up, preparing for their day with the elder just barking orders and the younger replying with a simple _‘yes sir’_. The old butler makes his return, bringing with him some pastries and a bit of joy for the sad little urchin since his father’s ire has been pacified from the man’s presence and just bids them farewell before leaving again. 

“Have you packed yourself lunch for the day Gladiolus?” 

“No sir, I was just going to take a snack today.”

“Oh no, that won’t do.” the man says and takes out a loaf of bread from a plastic box on the counter before going to the fridge. “You’re a growing boy and you need to make sure you keep yourself fed and hydrated properly. Can’t have you burning out during your training now.”

Gladio smiles and nods. “Yeah, thank you, Jared.”

Ardyn watches as the man prepares the teen his lunch, seeing the joy it brings to the child. It causes a strange feeling in his chest, seeing how happy the boy is from just the simple act of making him a sandwich. Hmm, maybe he should play matchmaker, find the oaf a suitable mate. Once everything is packed up neatly, the teen receives a loving pat to the head and sent off with well wishes, him trotting away with esteem. 

“My, you are quite chipper today.” Ardyn lets a soft smirk escape him, still finding pleasure in spooking the boy. 

“Oh, hello sir. Yeah, my sister is back home and Jared will be there too. I won’t be alone.” he says and then looks a bit down. “Especially after you leave.”

“Ah, yes. Although I don’t think my presence is all that big of a deal.” Ardyn says, but then looks a bit taken aback at the cheery smile the teen gives him before continuing on his way. 

This causes the man to have a bit of a quandary. He cannot fathom how this child could actually find his company enjoyable, most who come into contact with him either want to kill him or find him nefarious, which he doesn’t find issue with. But for someone to actually like him? Preposterous. 

Ardyn just shakes his head and hides as he continues to follow the teen to his morning class, finding it to be a dreadful repeat of the other, with the teen being ignored or mocked by his peers. At least this time Ardyn decides to have a bit of fun, knocking a rather haughty boy’s seat out from under him and spilling the instructor’s coffee onto his garish corduroys. Seriously, who would wear lime green pants with a bright purple vest, it was a crime against humanity!

Once his class is over he heads off to his daily training, becoming slightly apprehensive as he gets closer to his destination. Ardyn is slightly confused by this until he remembers that some of those who had attacked the boy the other day were fellow trainees. Would they try to jump him again thinking he is weakened from the stab? Or will the little shits leave him be thinking that a monster will come after them? Ardyn’s lips curl into a devilish grin. If the bastards do decide to harm the teen, he’ll make sure they regret it. But as they make their way inside, they find everyone in disarray and frantically running around in search. 

“The hell?” Gladio murmurs out before spotting the Advisor in training looking rather distraught and panicked. “Hey Ignis, what’s going on?” 

The younger boy looks to him with a deep frown. “His Highness has gone missing. He was to watch you and the others train to get an idea of what he will be doing soon. He became antsy and kept complaining he was bored, then he left ten minutes ago saying he needed to use the lavatory and hasn’t returned nor is he still in there.” 

“You gotta be shitting me.” the older teen grunts and looks around. “Did he head back into the main area?”

“No, there are guards at all the exits, no one seen him go by. So he has to still be somewhere in the training hall, but we just can’t find him.” 

“I’m sure he’s around here, probably just hiding in hopes he gets out of learning.” Gladio says and puts a hand on the younger boy’s shoulder, giving him a reassuring smile. “So take a deep breath, relax, and let's go look around again.” 

“Yes, thank you Gladio.” the younger says, calming slightly.

The two boys run off in search of the missing Prince, leaving Ardyn to watch the mayhem of everyone running around in hysterics. He feels his anger bubble up, letting a low growl escape him as he begins to skulk around. This just wouldn’t be tolerated of the Chosen King, running off and hiding when he should be learning. 

Ardyn relaxes and allows himself to be pulled along by some unseen force, eventually coming to stand before one of the many storage rooms. He enters inside quietly, scanning around before catching a glimpse of a black mass curled up under some stacked mats. There, was the sleeping form of the Prince. The chancellor growls lowly again, preparing to charge forward and slap some sense into the child but stops as he hears a familiar voice. He steps from the room, seeing Gladio and the other boy dashing from a room down the hall into one adjacent as they continue their search. 

Ardyn purses his lips and gets an idea, one he believes would do well for the little Shield in training. He travels to where the two boys are, reaching out and giving a tug to the older brunette’s ear to get his attention. Gladio turns towards the door and rubs at his ear, a pout on his face before he gets a soft nudge towards the exit. He looks slightly confused as he’s shooed out but then stops and smiles knowingly. 

The teen spots the opened door down the hall. “Hey Ignis, I think I have an idea where he is.” he says and runs down the hall with the other boy not far behind. 

They enter the room and begin looking around until Gladio is nudged towards the mats, finding the sleeping child at last.

“Highness, thank the gods he’s all right.” Ignis sighs out as Gladio carefully drags the younger boy from under the mats and holds him in his arms. 

The Prince lets out a groan and wraps his arms around the older boy’s neck, nuzzling into his front before going still as he falls back asleep. At least for a few seconds until Gladio unceremoniously jostles him around, making the younger boy groan, Ignis wince, and Ardyn sigh softly.

“Hey! No time for napping! You made everyone worry.” Gladio reprimands and returns the scowl shot at him by the boy in his arms. “Apologize to Iggy.”

The Prince wrinkles his nose and looks away. “Sorry, Ignis.”

“Thank you Noct, but what would possess you to run off and nap in a storage room?” 

“Hmm, I was tired and my back hurt from sitting on that bench. Everywhere else was too noisy too.” the young boy yawns, getting groans from the older two.

Even Ardyn feels a migraine coming on, smacking at the stack of mats in frustration and knocking them over. The three boys yelp in shock with the two smaller latching tightly onto the biggest who grabs them up protectively. Once they get over their initial fright, the older boys turn an annoyed eye to the Prince who looks a bit bashful.

“That would have severely injured you if they had fallen earlier.” Ignis huffs at the black haired child. 

The Prince groans and releases his tight hold on the oldest of the three, walking huffily from the room with Ignis in toe as the older boy continues to lecture him. Gladio sighs and shakes his head before looking around the room, a soft smile forming on his lips as he nods.

“Thank you, Sir.” he says and follows after the other two. 

Ardyn feels a strange pull in his chest, his lips slightly quirking into a smile that is quickly willed away with a grunt. He leaves the room as well and stalks after the three, them returning to the main hall where they are met by the instructor and other guards. It would seem Ardyn’s plan had worked, with the teen being praised for finding the Prince and bringing him back safely. An esteemed smile spreads across his face, one that makes that strange feeling fester in Ardyn’s chest. He hated it at first, but now, now he’s starting to like it. Maybe being summoned by the little oaf isn’t as bad as he had initially thought, he’s actually enjoying himself for once.


	8. Chapter 8

Helping Gladio find the little brat Prince has worked great for the young Shield to be, getting much praise and esteem for the boy. Especially from the one person the teen wanted it the most from. 

“You did well, son.” the elder Amicitia says and rests his hand on the boys head.

Gladio smiles with pride as the man walks away, the teen bowing as the man leaves the area. Once the elder is no longer around, Gladio begins to peer around in search until Ardyn reveals himself.

“I am here chi-” Ardyn is silenced when arms wrap around him, the teen hugging him tightly. “Unhand me this instant!”

Gladio does as told but continues to smile up at the man. “I want to thank you again for helping us out in finding the Prince.”

“Well, I couldn’t let the little brat laze about when he should be learning, especially with all that you and that little steward are put through.” 

“You’re a nice man sir.”

Ardyn’s face crinkles slightly, but inside his body, he feels a warmth. “Yes, well don’t get used to it.” 

Gladio chuckles slightly and collects up his gear now that he is done for the day. The auburn haired man re-hides himself and follows the teen back towards his home until the young boy stops to look around at the park from before. He lets out a soft sigh and goes to walk away but stops to stare once again, a look of longing taking over his face. 

“Shall we go inside for a brief moment? Maybe take a little stroll?”

“Uh, yeah, okay.” Gladio says, freezing momentarily before heads into the park.

The two walk the trail that leads through the park, with Gladio pointing out all the places where he and his family would have fun to spend time together, before looking a tad melancholy. The teen eventually stops and steps off the trail to descend down a hill, looking around before finding what he wants and running to a large maple tree. 

He circles the tree in search before his face lights up. “It’s still there, I thought someone would have carved over it.”

Ardyn steps forward to look at what has got the boy so happy, seeing four initials carved into the tree; CA, LA, GA, and IA. “Your family?”

“Yeah, this is where we’d have our picnics. I carved all our initials into the tree.” he says and purses his lips. “I got disciplined for using a knife and for carving into the tree.” Gladio sits back and pulls his legs up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them and resting his head on his knees. “That was two years ago, right before my parents got divorced. I miss spending time together with them, but I know it can never happen again. Dad’s always busy and my Mom, well, she doesn’t come around anymore. Dad usually drops Iris off to her and my Mom’s new boyfriend brings her back. I’m definitely bringing Iris here when she gets older, we’ll start a new tradition and have picnics here.”

Ardyn frowns down at the teen, but then he thinks of something and grins. Gladio lets out a soft sigh and gets up off the ground, dusting himself off before looking up at the older man with a smile. The two return back to the trail, with Gladio resuming his blithering as Ardyn mildly listens while also formulating a plan that he believes will make the little urchin feel better. 

Upon arriving home, the teen is pounced upon by his little sister, the girl chirping at him and asking how his day was. He tells her about the escapade in finding the prince, but he makes sure to give all the credit to Ardyn, or “Mr. Ghost” as he is referred to by the wee girl. She pouts slightly, saying she was looking all over for Ardyn to play with her and gets mad at her brother for hogging him all to himself, but then gets over it when the older man picks her up and gives her a playful toss making her giggle. 

The siblings head to the living area where Gladio begins working on his homework while his sister mimics her brother by scribbling numbers on a paper with a crayon. Ardyn can’t help but let a smile slip forth watching the children, wondering if things had turned out differently would him and his brother have shared a bond like this; or maybe he could have had children of his own. 

The old butler then calls the two to dinner and afterward Gladio helps clean up the dishes with Iris attempting to dry them. It was then time for the elder Amicitia to return home, scooping up his daughter for a hug and greeting his son with slightly more enthusiasm then Ardyn has seen before. The old butler bids the family goodnight and leaves, with the children’s father taking a seat on the couch to listen to his daughter tell him all about her day. Gladio resumes doing his homework as his family chats just amongst the two of them so Ardyn begins to put his plan into motion. He heads over to a storage closet he remembers shoving a tacky vase into and carefully enters inside, searching around for a box he had seen before and once he finds it on top of another, like a cat with a cup, knocks it over. 

“What was that?” Iris gasps and clings to her father as both he and Gladio go on edge. 

Their father goes to check what the noise was, opening the closet door and checking around where he finds the source of the noise. “A box seems to have fallen over.”

Iris rushes over curiously and searches through the mess as her father attempts to right it, finding a rectangle box that she smiles with joy at. “Hey, I remember this game. You, Mama, and Gladdy used to play it.” she says and looks up with pleading eyes at her father. “Can we play it, Papa? Me, you, and Gladdy?” 

The elder purses his lips and crinkles his brow as he looks down at his daughter holding the box. He lets out a soft sigh, his features growing softer. “Sure.”

“Yea!” the girl cheers and rushes over to the coffee table where her brother sits with his school work. Iris unabashedly tosses the papers away and sets the game box down, looking at the teen with glee. “Come on, let’s play Gladdy!” 

“All right all right, calm down.” he says and helps her set up the board game. 

Their father joins them and the game gets underway, the three truly enjoying themselves. Ardyn stands off to the side and watches, feeling a minor bit of satisfaction that the young boy looks truly happy. The game goes for a few rounds, the young girl _‘winning’_ each time until she begins to yawn and rub at her eyes. 

“All right Iris, it’s time for bed now.” her father tells her.

“Can Gladdy read to me first?”

The man grunts but gives in. “Not a long one, he needs to finish his school work.”

“Okay!” she says and grabs her brother by the hand. 

The siblings head off, leaving their father to pick up the game. Once finished, he looks with curiosity at his son’s homework and scoops it up, checking over everything he has done thus far. Ardyn watches as the man flips through the papers, then does another scan over them. A rare smile forms on his lips as he grunts approvingly and sets the papers down just as the teen walks back in. Gladio freezes in slight apprehension as he views his father set his work down but relaxes when the man nods to him. 

“Your reports are all correct, but you still need work on your penmanship.” 

Ardyn can’t help but roll his eyes at the little critique the man had to slip in after praising the boy. But he lets it go since the teen smiles.

“I will work on that issue.” he says and returns to his papers. 

The elder becomes a bit ridged as the room grows silent, his brow furrowing slightly before relaxing, only to move back into its prior wrinkle. It would seem Gladio has noticed his father’s uncomfortableness but he returns to his work and tries to ignore it. 

Finally, his father sighs. “Gladiolus, do you, find me harsh?”

The teen goes still. “Oh uh, I umm,” he begins, a slight shake to his voice. “not really, why do you ask?”

His father frowns. “I have been repri- I have heard from a few people that my actions towards you are quite cruel, that I am too hard on you and should let you enjoy being a child more instead of forcing you into your role so soon.”

Gladio begins to chew on his lower lip and looks down at the table to avoid his father’s gaze. “Well umm-”

“With the looming threat from our enemies constantly on the horizon, I just want you to be prepared thoroughly to take on the mantle of Shield and protect your liege with all of your being. But, maybe I am being overly pessimistic and I am,” the man begins and takes a quick breath. “sorry, Gladiolus.” 

Gladio looks up at his father, the man wearing a genuine remorseful look and gives the elder a soft smile. The man gives one back and ruffles his son’s hair before standing up from the couch and heading off to bed with a quick goodnight to his son before going to check on his daughter. Gladio lets out a soft sigh, smile still on his lips, and returns to finishing up his homework. He stops when he feels another hand lay upon his head, smiling growing even wider as his locks get tousled again.

“That was you who knocked over the box, wasn’t it?” Gladio whispers.

“I thought it would be a nice little bonding moment between you and your kin.” Ardyn says as he manifests himself. “It seems to have worked too.”

“Yeah, it did. Thank you, sir.”

“Ardyn. I think you’ve earned the right to use my name now, Gladiolus.”

“Thank you, Ardyn.”


	9. Chapter 9

Ardyn would have to begrudgingly admit that he is greatly enjoying his time with the teen and his sister; playing games with them when their father or the old butler is not around, telling them stories of old, and sitting down to enjoy meals with them. It feels like he has a little family, it’s nice. But something kept gnawing at him, like he was forgetting something. 

“I’m really going to miss you when you go back home.” Gladio says, cheeks slightly pink and face looking of forlorn as they walk home now that he is done with training. 

Ah yes, that. 

“I as well child. But I’m sure you’ll forget about me since things seem to be getting better for you.” 

It has, while he still gets some razzing from his classmates, the instructor has been nicer to him; especially since Ardyn put his newfound shapeshifting spell to good use by taking on the guise of the portly principle and giving a talking down to the haughty teacher. Plus he has gained a few little admirers from some of the females in his class that has given the teenager a boost of confidence, hopefully, it doesn’t give him a big ego. With his training, he now works one on one with his stoned faced tutor, the man preparing him for his eventual training of the Prince. But the biggest change has been with the boy’s father. While he’s still gruff with him at times, he’s been more lenient about what is expected of the teen, allowing him to have time where he can just act like a normal child. 

“I know it is but, I’ll still miss you and all the fun things we did.”

“Oh? Like bopping you over the head like a misbehaving pup?”

Gladio chuckles to himself. “Well, not that. I like talking with you about books and history, playing games along with Iris, and when we go for walks. You’re kind of like a cool Uncle.”

Ardyn allows a rare smile to creep onto his face at the boy’s words. “And you’re like a pesky little rascal who will not stay off my lawn, but is sweetly endearing at the same time.”

Gladio chuckles again and even the older man lets a soft one out. 

“So were you able to find a spell you’ll believe will work?”

“Hmm, possibly.” 

Ardyn had narrowed it down to two, but both still had issues besides potentially not working. The one finalized with a kiss seemed the more simplistic, he just doesn’t want to steal away the boy’s first kiss nor is he comfortable with kissing a thirteen-year-old. He does have some morals. Then there's the second option with its cryptic ‘the summoner must give up something they hold dear’. The only thing that seems dear to the boy is his sister and that is a major no. Maybe he’ll just let Gladio decide when it’s time. And speaking of time.

“You said everyone will be out of the house on Sunday, correct?”

“Yeah, my Dad will be having council meetings all day and Jared is taking Iris to get her haircut in the afternoon. So that will give us about an hour and a half to set everything up and perform the spell.”

“So two more days and I will be back home.” Ardyn says with a soft sigh. He feels quite relieved at the prospect of returning back to Niflheim, but a small part of him feels a pang of sadness. Damn little urchin with his sad kicked puppy face.

“Hey,” Gladio begins, him slightly fidgeting and looking bashful. “we should do something fun before you leave, like a going away party.”

“Hmm, wouldn’t really be a party if it’s just the two of us.”

“Still, we should do something.” the teen says and then looks over at the park as they walk by. “Hey, do you want to go walk that trail again?”

Ardyn sighs annoyedly, wanting to get back to the teen’s abode and take a nice long bath. But when he sees the sparkle in those amber eyes, he knows he can’t say no. “Very well, but only for a bit.”

Gladio beams brightly and turns into the park, with Ardyn shaking his head and following soon after. Once the two are on the trail and safely out of view from most people, Ardyn unhides and walks next to the teen. 

“Are there places like this from where you are from?” Gladio asks curiously.

“Yes, but I seldom get to enjoy them.” 

Can't really stop to smell the roses when you're trying to dispose of a body. Although maybe he should take a walk sometime, he might find some new serene places where he can hide the remains of his enemies. 

“You should though, it can be relaxing.” Gladio says and then gets a playful look to him. “I wish I had a large bouncy ball.”

Without a thought, Ardyn flicks his wrist and manifest the object, then looks spitefully at it then the grinning child standing before him. He goes to snap at the boy but then notices the eager puppy face he is giving him, feeling his ire slowly slipping away. 

“Let me guess, you want me to throw this so you can chase after it then bring it back to me?”

Gladio frowns. “I’m not a dog. I just wanna play catch with you.”

Ardyn looks at the round item in his hand, brain slowly processing what was just said to him. ‘Play catch’. That was something a parent and child do for fun. The older man returns his gaze to the teen, him looking more like an overgrown toddler as he bounces on his toes and looks hopeful. 

“Very well, I shall amuse you. For a bit.” 

Gladio moves further down the trail before turning back to Ardyn, hopping slightly and flailing his arms. 

“Okay! Throw it to me!” 

A cheeky little smile curls onto the bound Chancellors lips. He does toss the ball, right over the teen’s head, making him chase after it. The teen bounds back over while still wearing his trademark goofy grin and tosses the ball back. Ardyn watches as it sails towards him, pursing his lips and using his magic to bring the ball to him. 

“Hey, that’s cheating!” Gladio grumbles but stops and watches as the ball is tossed back, right over his head. He puffs his cheeks out and chases after the ball. “All right, I’m going to throw it and no cheating this time!”

Ardyn still does it anyway. The two continue their little game until it begins to get dark, realizing they stayed a little longer then they had planned. They rush back as quickly as they can but as soon as Gladio steps foot inside his house, he is greeted by an angry look from his father.

“You’re late.” the man says lowly.

Gladio goes rigid. Ardyn leans in close to him and whispers something to the teen, him relaxing slightly.

“I wanted to work on my stamina more and went for a jog at the park.”

The elder Amicitia stares at his son briefly before grunting. “Call someone next time.”

“Yes sir.” he says, letting a soft sigh escape him. 

“Go get yourself cleaned up, Jared will have dinner ready at eighteen-thirty.”

“Will do, sir.” 

The teen heads off to wash, getting pounced upon by his sister as he does. 

“Gladdy I was so worried when you didn’t come home, but then I remembered Mr. Ghost is with you and he won’t let anything bad happen to you.” she says and then giggles when she feels a phantom hand pat her on the head. “Oh, oh! Hey Mr. Ghost can I show you something while my brother gets cleanup?”

“Iris, what are you up to?” the teen asks curiously.

“None of your business Gladdy, gosh.” 

Ardyn chuckles to himself and gives her a little nudge while nodding. She leads the invisible man to her room and once she makes sure no one followed she closes the door marginally. 

“What is it you want to show me, child?” he asks, then watches as the little girl runs over to a bag, taking out a book and presenting it to him. “A children’s book?”

“Yeah, Papa gave Jared some money so that I could get something when we went shopping today and I got this. I want to practice reading with you so that I can read it to my Papa and Gladdy. Will you help me?”

He looks down at her, looking into her big puppy eyes, and just like with her brother he knows he can’t deny her. “Very well.”

Iris squeals happily and plops down into a little plush moogle chair. Ardyn listens as the girl reads her book, correcting her whenever she mispronounces a word and helping her when she doesn’t know one. 

Eventually, she is called for dinner, leaving Ardyn to amble about the house by himself. He eventually makes his way back down to the basement, looking at the spot on the floor where he was summoned. A strange feeling comes over him, setting the daemons who inhabit him into a tizzy. While he was delighted with the prospect of returning back to his home, a part of him feels a tad melancholy, knowing once he returns there will be no one to greet him. 

Ardyn snaps out of his funk and shakes his head. Maybe he’ll get himself a cat or two, they don’t need much care and can be mildly friendly, when not sleeping or being little assholes. He hears a raucous bout of laughter from upstairs, upon heading back up he finds the little girl in the midst of a giggle fit as she is relentlessly tickled by her brother as their bemused Father watches from his spot in his recliner. It was a sweet little sight, almost enough to make his blackened heart swell. After the siblings finish their battle, the little girl presents them with her new book.

“Would you like for me to read that to you Iris?” Clarus asks.

“Nope, I want to read it to you and Gladdy.” 

The two men look to her in surprise before smiling at her. Iris pushes over an ottoman to sit on so she is near both her Father and brother. She looks at the both of them before quickly glancing at Ardyn, giving him a little smile and proceeding to read her book. The night rolls on with Gladio getting a start on his homework as his sister gets tucked into bed. Once she is alone, Ardyn goes to her and motions for her to remain quiet.

“Young one, I have a favor to ask of you. I’ll be leaving here shortly and I have a deep concern for your brother. Would you promise me, that you’ll always show him love and support, especially when the weight of the world and his duty tries to push him down.”

“Okay Mr. Ghost, I promise.” she whispers softly, a smile on her face.

He smiles at her in return but then looks to her curiously as she holds up her pinkie to him.

“Whatever are you doing?”

“It’s a pinkie promise. You clasp pinkies with someone you make a promise to and you can never break it.”

Ardyn chuckles softly at this. Such a simple little thing, but so endearing. He clasps his pinkie with hers, the little girl smiling broadly before releasing him and snuggling down in her bed. 

“Goodnight Mr. Ghost.”

“Goodnight Iris.”

The auburn haired man retreats from her room and returns to the living room, finding the teen there alone, doing his schoolwork. Ardyn walks over to him and glances at his work, watching as he carefully writes his words in cursive. The older man gives a pat to the boy’s head, him stopping momentarily to smile before resuming his work.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the comments and for reading, this fill was a joy to write and I'm glad you all enjoyed it. ♡(◕◡◕)♡

Everyone had left as expected, leaving Gladio and Ardyn alone to perform the ritual that will unbind the elder and return him to Niflheim. He feels a sense of relief that it will be finally over, but too he feels a bit forlorn as he looks to the overgrown child- no, young man drawing the runes on the basement floor. While he hated being stuck here at first, spending time with the teen and his sister had been, he’ll admit, nice. 

“All right, that’s done,” Gladio says and wipes chalk dust off his hands. “now for the candles and incense then we can start the spell.” 

“Hmm, yes.” Ardyn says and furrows his brows. 

He still has to decide what spell he wants to do. Both set up the same but when it comes to activating the spell is where it differs, and there is the horrible possibility neither will work and he has to try the third. And possibly having to rape or murder the boy are not an option he’s willing to do. If it was when he first was dragged here he might of, but now he wishes to bring no harm to the sad little urchin, feeling that life already shits all over him as is. 

“Okay Ardyn, what’s next?”

Ardyn freezes. Shit, what was he to do? “Well I,” he says and tips his head back and thinks. “we need to decide which incantation to do.”

“Okay, so what are the choices?” Gladio asks, looking naively innocent.

“The first requires your blood and some herbs to be mixed together as you recite the spell, you will then need to drink the mixture and pass it to me,” he says and smirks at the disgusted look the boy makes. “by way of mouth.” 

Gladio’s cheeks turn a deep red. “Oh, uh what’s the other?”

“The other requires,” Ardyn falters again but shakes his head and continues. “you to give up something you hold dear in exchange for my freedom.”

“Something, I hold dear?” Gladio says and begins to think. 

“Both choices have, issues, to say the least. But I leave it for you to decide.”

“So I either have to drink a nasty mix of my blood and some plants, or give up something precious to me.”

The teen fidgets around as he mulls over his decision, has a brief moment where it would seem he made his choice, only to go back to thinking. Ardyn sighs out and leans against some boxes as he places his hands inside his pockets, but then feels something in one that makes him knit his brows. It was the gift he bought for the teen at that occult shop, he had forgotten all about it.

“Gladio.” he says and gets the boy’s attention. “I had gotten something for you but forgot about it after you were stabbed in that alley. Here.”

The teen holds his hand out and accepts the necklace, looking at it and then smiling fondly. “This is really cool Ardyn, thank you. I’ll cherish it.” he says and puts it over his head, then looks at it again. “Meeting you and spending all these times together, has been so much fun.” Gladio looks to him and smiles, tears rolling down his face. “I’m going to greatly miss you.”

“I as well child.” Ardyn says and returns his smile. “I’ll make sure when I return and we meet again, I won’t see you harmed.”

“Huh?” Gladio begins but then chuckles and wipes his tears away. “You say the strangest things Ardyn.”

“Truly.”

The brunette looks back down at the necklace, running his finger over the metal x and then nods. “I know what I need to do.”

“You have, what is it?”

“The second spell.”

Ardyn’s brows crinkle. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Very well.” he says and retrieves the appropriate book. 

He hands it over to the teen and reads over it with him, but his mind can’t really focus, wondering just what the teen has chosen to give up. It wouldn’t be anyone from his family, he loves his baby sister too much and he doubts he’d pick his Father; even if the man was cold and abusive, he was still his father and Shield to the King. Hmm, his duty as Shield? No, he wouldn’t do that either, it’d just fall to Iris and Gladio wouldn’t ever do that to her. Finally, once Gladio is able to memorize and pronounce the incantation they take their places, Ardyn in the center while Gladio kneels before him. The teen takes a couple breaths and then snickers as Ardyn pats his head, putting a smile on his face before relaxing.

 _“Voco super spirituum, implorare debetis, ut audirent sermones meos. Liberabo te hoc peto, ut non reverteretur a binding et eo unde venisset.”_ Gladio sniffles, tears forming in his eyes again and continues. “I offer, as the thing I hold dear, my memories of the time we spent together.”

Ardyn looks stunned at the boy but before he can react the rune activates and a bright light engulfs him. He opens his eyes and looks to the child, seeing him crying but with a smile still on his face.

“Thank you, Ardyn, for being kind to me and being my first friend.”

The light becomes so intense that Ardyn can’t help but shut his eyes tightly again, then everything goes dark. He slowly reopens them and looks around, finding himself inside a cold, silent, and dark house. Home, he was home, but he doesn’t feel much joy. Just very sad and lonely. 

It would be ten years before he meets with the once sad sack with puppy eyes, finding him to now be a beast of a man, tattooed and scarred with eyes full of life and care. Although now they're looking at him with suspicion.

“Yes?” Gladio asks, voice sounding gravelly and distrustful. “Something you want?”

Ardyn looks down at the book the young man is holding and smiles. “That’s an interesting book you have there.”

Gladio looks down at it and lets a smile slip out. “Yeah, had this since I was young, can’t remember though where I got it, but it’s one of my favorites. Must have read it over a hundred times.” 

The auburn haired man nods and then looks to see the necklace he gave to him around his neck, feeling his cold and blackened heart grow warm. He takes a seat next to the young man, inwardly snorting at the annoyed look he sports. Oh, how the tables have turned.

“Would you mind telling me about your book? I am always looking for new things to read.”

The smile Ardyn remembers from all those years ago returns, that wide toothy childlike grin.

“Sure.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you like, come visit and chat with me on my [Tumblr](https://catlady1986.tumblr.com/)


End file.
